Tripping Eyes and Flooded Lungs
by Skabooom
Summary: Danny is the single father to toddler Charlie Mahealani. Stiles happens to be the alluring new assistant at the preschool where Charlie spends most of his day.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N Title taken from Northern Downpour by Panic at the Disco.**_

The first time Danny and Stiles meet is on Halloween. It's almost 6 PM, and Danny is running extremely late to pick his child up from preschool.

Well, it's not his child, not exactly - legally, Charlie is all his, but biologically? Danny's sister got pregnant at 16, over two years ago now, and when it was made clear that she both wanted to go through with the pregnancy, but not raise the child, Danny stepped up to the plate. Maybe he was only 21 years old when it happened, but he had a steady job working for a tech company, making more money than he knew what to do with, and he'd always known he wanted a child.

For a man in his situation, homosexual, worked a lot, it wasn't going to be easy for him to get a kid through adoption, and natural pregnancy was out of the question, seeing as he knew firmly where he stood, and it was on the "likes guys" side of the line.

The adoption was official moments after Charlie's birth, and Danny had been working to raise the boy as his own for the past 22 months. Most of the time, he was able to juggle work and his son, especially since so much of his work could be done from home, but today...things just got away from him.

He had a meeting two towns over, and it ran late, and now he's struggling to get to the school, who has already called him 4 times to inform him that he's late, by the time he even gets out of the meeting. He speeds home to Beacon Hills, and thanks god that traffic isn't bad, but he know she's late, and that by now, little Charlie is certainly the only one in his class left...seeing as the school lets out at 5 PM at the latest.

When he bursts in the door, he's surprised to see his son, still wearing the dinosaur costume he came to school in, sitting in the lap of a total stranger dressed as a cowboy, fast asleep.

"I'm so sorry, I got held up at work, it was ridiculous, I didn't mean to be this late, I mean I didn't mean to be late at all, but..." He trails off, making sure that his voice is maintaining a whisper. "Wait, who are you?"

"I'm Stiles," Stiles says softly, gently shifting the boy in his arms to hold his hand out. I'm the new toddler assistant. I know Ms. Martin sent out a bulletin, but there wasn't a picture. You must be Mr. Mahealani."

"Daniel." He nods. "Or Danny. How long has he been asleep?"

"About 20 minutes. After the last kid left he screamed a little, wore himself out."

"God, I'm so sorry." Danny reaches into his pocket and pulls out his ID, showing it to Stiles. "I'll get him out of your hair so you can leave. I'm really sorry to keep you."

"Hey, it's okay." Stiles smiles. "So long as it doesn't become habit, I don't think we've got a problem."

"It won't, I promise. I should have called someone else, I just really didn't think that meeting would run over that long." Danny cradles his still sleeping son in his arms. "Was he that upset?"

"Nah." Stiles smiles. "I mean, about normal for the situation. At this age they haven't fully realized he concept of being late versus being, you know...left..." Stiles scratches at the back of his head, now wanting to make the clearly flustered father feel any worse.

"Well thank you for staying with him, for comforting him...and god, I can't believe he managed to keep his costume clean all day."

"Oh, he didn't." Stiles laughs. "As soon as the kids showed odd their costumes we took them off and changed them. I used putting it back on to distract him while we waited."

"Oh." Danny smiles, dimples wide. "Well thanks again. Have a good Halloween, John Wayne."

"That's the Lone Ranger to you," Stiles teases, instantly regretting it, because while this guy looks about his age, he's still the parent of one Stiles' students.

"Oh yeah?" Danny asks, arching one eyebrow high. "Then where's your mask?"

"In my bag," Stiles replies truthfully. "I didn't want to scare the kids."

"Oh." Danny looks shut down, like he has no response. "Well I'll be seeing you."

"Same." Stiles slings his messenger bag over his shoulder and signs both himself and Charlie out before turning the lights out and locking up the school, heading to the Halloween party his roommate is going to kill him for being late to help set up.

"Hey man Lone Ranger, how was your first day?" Scott asks, opening the door to their apartment before Stiles even has the chance to dig his keys out. "You're late, by the way."

"Suck it up, Tonto, we had a super late parent, and I'm the newbie so I got the short straw, had to stay with the kid. Not that it was bad, just...that's why I'm late."

"Forgiven." Scott shrugs. "I need you to help me with my face paint."

"What are we going to do when one of us is dating someone on Halloween, and expected to do a couples costume with them?" Stiles asks of his childhood best friend.

"Hope that they are understanding of or traditions?" Scott tries.

"Right on." Stiles laughs as he helps Scott get his face paint on.

"So for real, how was your first day?" Scott asks.

"Well I'm the only guy," Stiles states. "But it was good."

"The only guy in your classroom, or the only guy in the whole staff?"

"Whole staff."

"Lucky you," Scott says with a sigh. "It's just me and Deaton at the vets."

"You know I don't play where I work," Stiles smiles. "Besides, Ms. Martin - sorry, Lydia. It's toddlers, so first names - is engaged."

"Isn't here another assistant?" Scott asks.

"Yeah, Allison, but she's not really my type. Which is good. I won't be tempted to break my rules."

"What about hot parentals?" Scott teases.

"Nah." Stiles shrugs it off, his mind totally not going to the late father. Not at all. "Alright makeup done, let's set up the booze."

Scott and Stiles are new to Beacon Hills, and Scott, straight out of vet school, got a job easily at the local vet, and Stiles, straight out of college with a degree in early childhood development didn't have any problem getting a job as an assitant as a preschool. They decided to throw a party on Halloween, try and meet some of the people in their apartment complex, but mostly, it's just a fresh start for the childhood best friends, and they're happy about where their lives are taking them.

"What do we do if no one shows up?" Scott asks, setting out the bottles of beer and liquor that they had bought for the party while Stiles gets the cups.

"Get drunk and play Mario Kart," Stiles states. "Duh."

"Being an adult feels a lot like being in college," Scott muses.

"We're bridging the gap between college and adulthood," Stiles says with a smile. Hey, he's professional at work, he knows that. He's great with the kids, and he will be an amazing assistant. That doesn't mean that he can't get hammered on Halloween with his best friend, with his brother.

**_A/N Alright, new Stanny story! First off, I work with toddlers, and every toddler in this story's behavior will be modeled after one of my students, so it should be pretty accurate! Second, I hope that you enjoyed the opening, and yeah, it's probably going to be a slow build, so I hope that's alright! :) Please keep reading, even if it's a slow start!_**


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, quick team meeting before the kids get here. And I brought coffee and bagels because I know we're all at least a little bit hungover from Halloween." Lydia smiles brightly as she enters the classroom. They have half an hour before the students show up, and she looks perky and sunny, like she's not hungover in the slightest, though Stiles gets the feeling she always looks like that.

"You are a goddess and I love you," Allison says with a smile, looking only slightly less worse for the wear than Lydia as she takes the cup of coffee and sits down on the rug.

Stiles doesn't know exactly how long Allison and Lydia have been working together, but from what he can tell, they're best friends, and they work together amazingly. Stiles hopes that he can become as cohesive with the two of them as they are with each other, because this is sort of his dream job - at least for this point in his life.

"Stiles, I didn't know what you drank, so I just got you a vanilla latte, I hope that's okay."

"Coffee is...everything," Stiles says with a smile. "I'm not picky." He joins Allison on the rug, knowing that he, himself, doesn't look _too_ hungover, thanks to the McCall family hangover cure that he and Scott downed this morning in the form of greasy hash browns and incredible strong coffee.

"Alright, well first things first, Stiles, thanks so much for staying late yesterday, once we get down to ratio, you can be the first one to go home today. What time did Charlie's dad end up getting here?"

"Just around 6," Stiles answers. "But he was really flustered about being that late."

"Yeah, he's usually right on time, even early, so I don't think it's something to worry about," Lydia says with a shrug. "Now, since it's the day after halloween, a lot of the kids are going to come in with pictures of themselves and their families from last night. Those pictures can go in the top of their cubbies and will be open for looking at and showing to other students during free play times. If any candy comes into class with these kids, it goes into their backpacks, and stays there until they go home. Last thing we need is a bunch of sugar hyped up toddlers on our hands."

"You can say that again," Stiles says with a smile, a smile which Lydia and Allison both return, and yeah, Stiles likes working here already.

"And the last thing, a lot of them are probably going to come in in something of a sugar coma, or they stayed up late last night, so we can expect tired kids and late arrivals. Be prepared for volatile behavior, hitting, and meltdowns!"

The way Lydia says it, sounds like they're preparing to be rewarded with sunny, blue skies all week long, and Stiles feels like that kind of perky optimism should be annoying, but for some reason, it's not. It's actually encouraging and even slightly endearing.

They get to work setting up the classroom - they have 12 kids in the morning, but it dwindles down to 8 in the afternoons, which is good, because they have to prepare snacks, clean the room, and do a ton of laundry themselves because, well, it's a small private preschool. Stiles knows that it's a lot of work, but he feels like it's definitely worth it. This is where he wants to be, what he wants to be doing, and Lydia and Allison seem hell bent on making him feel as comfortable at work as possible.

The kids show up, and Lydia was right, it's a little bit of a shitshow, between sugar comas from the night before, and staying up too late, most of the kids are tired, or a bit lethargic, and Stiles ends up leading a story group on the rug with over half of the class while Lydia and Allison work one on one with other students on practical life skills.

By the time lunch and nap time roll around, all 8 remaining kids are passed out within 10 minutes, and Stiles gets to work sleeping the classroom while Lydia goes on her lunch break.

"Hey." Allison walks up to Stiles, her voice a low whisper. "About last night, thanks for staying late, and with what Lydia said...we cut Charlie's dad a little slack here and there. He's not usually late like that without calling, but sometimes he'll call ahead, and he's the one parent we don't really say no to."

"Why's that?" Stiles asks, tilting his head to the side.

"He's our only single parent," Allison explains. "He loves his kid, and does everything that he can to get here on time, but sometimes, he just gets held up, and he can't always get ahold of his neighbor to come get Charlie."

"Oh." Stiles nods. "Does this happen a lot?"

"Oh, no." Allison shakes her head. "Like...once a month at most."

"Oh, good." Stiles smiles. "I mean, not that it really matters, but yeah. Thanks for the heads up."

As luck would have it, right as Stiles gets back from his own lunch break, Charlie becomes the first student to wake up from nap (maybe in part because of the power nap he took on Stiles' lap before trick or treating yesterday), and wanders out of the nap area and to the bathrooms.

"Hey, buddy." Stiles smiles, bending down to help the kid out. "Welcome to the waking world."

The boy just smiles sleepily, and grabs a tuft of his own hair. "Hair," he states.

"That's right, man." Stiles grins, helping him get to the potty, and changed for his afternoon.

Once he's ready to go, Stiles gets a book down from the shelf for Charlie to look at while he finishes folding laundry. It's a book about how daddies come in all shapes and sizes and colors, and after hearing that Charlie's dad is a single parent, it seems like a good idea to him.

"Daddy," Charlie says, pointing at the picture on the front.

"Yeah." Stiles smiles. "They're all daddies."

"Daddies." Charlie grins, nodding as he plops down right in Stiles' lap with the book.

Stiles reads the book to him, letting Charlie turn the pages as he does so. When Lydia comes back into the room from the kitchen, she doesn't interject, she just sits down and quietly starts to fold the laundry that Stiles abandoned in order to read to Charlie.

When the other kids start to wake up, and Allison starts helping them, Charlie stands up to go check out what's going on with his little friends, and Lydia smiles, holding Stiles back as he gets up to go help Allison out.

"Yeah?" Stiles asks.

"Congratulations," Lydia smiles warmly at him. "You bonded with your first toddler. Usually takes more than a day for them to warm up to a stranger in their safe space."

"Yeah, well, he and I got to know each other last night when he got snot and tears all over my Lone Ranger costume."

"And you didn't even bat an eye," she says with a smile. "Welcome to Growing Roots, where the snot we wear on our clothes are rarely our own."

"Thanks, Lydia." Stiles smiles, going off to help Allison, an extra kick in his step. It's only his second day, and his boss seems to think that he's a good fit, and he doesn't think she's wrong.

**_A/N This chapter and the next one are going to focus a lot on Stiles' relationship with the people in his life and workplace - Lydia, Allison, Charlie, and Scott, but don't worry, Danny will come back, and he will be oh so present. :) thanks for reading, and I hope that this chapter keeps you interested! I wanted to bond Stiles with Charlie, so...yeah. Anyways, thanks! I hope you enjoyed!_**


	3. Chapter 3

"Out of my way, out of my way," Stiles states a little over a week later, entering the kitchen at work. It's about 4 PM, and he's headed right for the bleach spray. Instead of taking into the classroom, however, he starts spraying it on the leg of his jeans.

"Uh oh." Cora, who works in the classroom one age bracket up from Stiles, laughs at him. "Who was it this time?"

"Quail." Stiles sighs. "It's like...the 4th time she's peed on me this week."

Cora can't help but laugh.

"Jesus, who names their daughter Quail?"

"The same people who would name their son Peregrine." Stiles shrugs. "I have no room to judge, my parents named me Andrzejek, so…"

"Yeah, it was funny when Marin was trying to tell us your name before she interviewed you, but after she got your resume."

"Polish," Stiles says with a grin. "One hell of a language. Anyways, I'd better get back into the classroom before Henry starts throwing blocks again."

"See ya, Stiles." Cora shakes her head and goes back to her snack, Stiles darting back into the classroom as though nothing had happened. After all, it's part of his job.

Stiles dives headfirst back into what seems to be a pretty chaotic day at the school, despite two kids being out with pink eye, something that Stiles is oddly paranoid he's going to get, despite Lydia and Allison both swearing up and down that, in the years they have worked in childcare, both in this school, and summer camps and babysitting before, they've never gotten it.

"Okay, who needs drinks?" Lydia asks after the last child has left. Lydia, for the first time since Stiles started working at Growing Roots, looks a little spent - emphasis on a little. Maybe two strands of hair are out of place, and her usual sunny smile is toned down, but only slightly.

"Me, I do." Allison raises her hand. "Thank god it's Friday and we can just shake this from our systems.

"What about you, Stiles?" Lydia asks. "Celebratory 'we made it through another week' happy hour?"

"Oh." Stiles grins. "Absolutely, yeah."

"I'll buy you a beer," Allison promises as they get to straightening the room up so that they can leave for the weekend. "Since you seem to be the winner of our "getting peed on by Quail the most" this week."

"Is this some contest that I'm unaware of?" Stiles asks.

"Pretty much, yeah." Lydia nods. "Ever since she got here at the start of the school year, no matter how many times we put her on the toilet, she seems to only pee when she's sitting in someone's lap."

"Well good to know it's not just me, then," Stiles says with a grin.

They finish in the classroom after about 15 minutes, and head out as a group, heading to a bar that's not too far away at all. If worse comes to worst, Stiles figures he can call Scott, and Scott can come on his bike, and drive the jeep home with Stiles in it, because if Stiles had a dollar for every time he'd picked Scott up drunk somewhere in college, he might not have to work ever again.

The first round is on Allison, and they get a table in the back where they can just sort of talk. This is the first time that Stiles has been out with Allison and Lydia, and it's pretty clear that they are best friends, but he's not really sure how the whole "being social with your coworkers" thing is supposed to work.

"First off, Stiles," Lydia says with a smile. "Welcome to the team, you're off to a great start - the kids love you, the parents love you, and we love you, because you don't shy away from hard work."

"Well thank you, happy to be here."

"Where are you from, and what brought you to Beacon Hills?" Allison asks after they've all had a couple of drinks and vented about the hectic work week.

"Well I'm from San Clemente, and I went to college in LA, so I'm California born and bred," Stiles explains, taking a large gulp of his beer. "And my Scott, he went to vet school, and we'd always talked about living together after college, so when he got a job at the Vet's office in town, I figured hey, couldn't hurt to apply to schools in the area, and for some reason, I got hired, so here I am!" He grins.

"Your Scott?" Allison tilts her head to the side, and Lydia giggles. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"What?" Stiles eyes widen comically. "Oh god, no, NO! He's my Snoopy! My Ron Weasley...actually I might be the Ron Weasley, but yeah, no."

"So he's your best friend?" Lydia asks, just to clarify, because after a couple of drinks, Stiles isn't making the most sense that he ever has.

"Yes." Stiles nods. "Best friend, brother from another mother, whatever you want to call it. What about you two? Where are you from?"

"Well, we're from here," Allison says with a shrug. "I left for college, then took two years to travel around france, and when I got back, genius Lydia had managed to secure a job working in a start-up school, they let her choose her own assistant, and she chose me." Allison smiles.

"So you guys were friends before?" Stiles asks.

"Yup. Like you and Scott," Lydia smiles.

"How does that whole 'working with your best friend' thing work?" Stiles asks. "Scott and I always sort of thought that it would be a disaster."

"It's managed to work for us," Allison says with a shrug. "But we make a good team, so maybe that's why. Oh yeah, you should know - no passive aggression here. You've got a problem, you say it to us. Unless it's with Jackson, then you keep it to yourself," Allison teases.

"Jackson?" Stiles asks. He's pretty sure he's not drunk enough to forget any of the kids names, and he's pretty sure there's no Jackson.

"The future Mr. Lydia Martin," Allison clarifies.

"Ohhhh," Stiles nods. "That's right! You're engaged!"

"I am indeed." Lydia smiles down at her drink.

"Who him a picture, Lyds," Allison demands.

"He doesn't want to see that," Lydia rolls her eyes.

"Actually, I so do." Stiles grins goofily. He doesn't know a lot of people in Beacon Hills yet, just the few people from their apartment complex that showed up to the Halloween party, and the people from work - and, well, Scott. He could definitely use a few more faces to put to names.

"Okay." Lydia doesn't seem at all upset about being able to show off her fiance, and she pulls out her phone, producing a picture of her and Jackson in record time. "That's Jackson." She points to him, as though it's not obvious, seeing as the other person in the picture is her.

"Jesus christ," Stiles exclaims. "Was he carved from marble?"

Allison bursts out laughing, and Lydia looks at him strangely, before grinning wide.

"He is handsome, isn't he?" She asks, tilting her head to the side.

"Um, like…'I'll take greek goods for 500, Alex,' handsome," Stiles agrees.

"You are too funny." Lydia laughs, smiling at him. "Just keep your paws off, and we should be fine."

"Oh, no worries here." Stiles grins.

"Straight?" Allison asks - something it's pretty clear she and Lydia have been wondering since they hired him, but neither has had the courage to ask without, well, happy hour drunkenness.

"Bi," Stiles corrects. "Just not into the unavailable. I have rules."

"You have rules?" Lydia asks.

"Well yeah," Stiles nods. "No one younger or older than me by more than 5 years - though that one will probably change as I get older. No one who is taken - I'm not into being the other man, and no one from work."

"I think you just broke my heart," Allison says teasingly.

"I'm sorry, babe, I guess it just wasn't meant to be," Stiles throws back, and god, it feels like he's known these two women forever. They just click, and he's so glad to be working in a place where he feels like he belongs. "Is there a future Mr. Allison Argent?" Stiles asks, looking pointedly at Allison.

"Nope. Not at the moment." She shakes her head.

"Allison is picky," Lydia states.

"Hey," Allison shoots back. "We don't always meet the love of our lives in high school."

"Too true," Lydia smiles. "I just got lucky."

"Okay, hold on, hold on." Stiles pulls out his phone. "I gotta text Scott and see if he can come get me, or if I should cut myself off now."

"Wait, stop." Allison grabs Stiles' phone away from him, looking at the background, which is a picture of him and Scott on the day they moved into their first adult apartment. "Who is that? Is _that_ your boyfriend?"

"No," Stiles states. "That's my Snoopy!"

"Damn, Stiles!" Allison looks at him. "Your snoopy is damn fine!"

"I will tell him you said that," Stiles states, grabbing his phone back, texting Scott, asking for a ride.

"Don't you dare! He's your roommate and best friend, odds are, I'll actually wind up meeting him. Possibly tonight."

"Oh good." Stiles grins, pocketing his phone after getting Scott's consent for a lift. "You can tell him yourself then. He'll be here in like half an hour."

"How do I look?" Allison asks.

"Hot," Lydia and Stiles say at the same time, which then turns into both of them smiling at each other, and yeah. Stiles is definitely gonna like these ladies.

By the time Scott gets there, Stiles has managed to fit two more drinks into himself, and Lydia and Allison aren't too far behind.

"Buddy!" Stiles jumps up, hugging Scott tight.

"Hey there, drunky." Scott smiles, a smile which instantly turns to a look of shock when he sees Allison and Lydia. Well, particularly Allison.

"Bro, this is Allison and Lydia, Lydia and Allison, this is my Snoopy!"

"Hi, Snoopy." Allison holds out her hand, and Scott shakes it.

"Scott, I'm Scott."

"Nice to meet you, Scott," Lydia says with a much more composed smile. "Stiles has told us a lot about you, and we wanted to thank you for dragging him to Beacon Hills, he's made a great addition to the team."

"Oh, no problem." Scott smiles, his eyes still fixed on Allison.

Stiles is tugging at Scott's arm, clearly pretty wasted, and Allison and Lydia, while equally drunk, are a little more reserved.

"Okay, well I should probably get this guy over here home," Scott says with a wry smile. "Do you ladies have a way home?"

"Oh, I like like a block from here," Allison states. "And Lyds, Jackson's coming to get you, right?"

"Yup, he's on his way." Lydia nods.

"Alright, well, I hope I'll see you soon." Scott smiles and turns away, helping Stiles out of the bar.

"That was fun," Stiles says with a smile as Scott takes the keys to the jeep and loads Stiles inside. "I like it here, Scotty."

"Yeah." Scott smiles as he starts driving back to their apartment - he can come back and get his bike tomorrow. "I like it here, too."

**_A/N Sorry this took so long, I promise Danny is in the next chapter. _**


	4. Chapter 4

Monday is a pretty chill day at work. A lot of the kids go home early, so Allison and Lydia are both gone by 4:45, leaving Stiles with Charlie and Maria, one of their older, and more precocious students. She gets picked up shortly thereafter, though, but Charlie's dad practically runs into the lobby at 4:59, looking flustered, more like that first day that Stiles met him, and not the many days in between where he's been on time, looking calm and collected.

"Hey, you're on time, don't worry," Stiles teases, trying to lighten the mood as Charlie runs to his dad, demanding with outstretched arms to be picked up.

"Hey buddy!" Danny scoops up the kid, giving him kisses before settling him on his side and looking to Stiles. "Oh, yeah...um, look, is there any chance...do you babysit?"

"I have been known to do that, yes." Stiles nods. Lydia had been clear when he first started working there that babysitting for students was actually fine, for Stiles and Allison, because they weren't the head teachers, so he knew that it wouldn't interfere with his job, and Charlie was the first kid he really bonded with, so it would be nice to make a little extra money spending time with him.

"Great! That's great, okay, but here's the thing...you're not free tonight, are you? I usually just leave him with the next door neighbor, Isaac, but he just called me, and apparently he's sick, and he wouldn't say that unless he were really sick, so i'm kind of in a pinch, I mean, I can cancel, I don't want you to feel obligated, it's not...not a work thing, I-"

"I'm free tonight," Stiles states, cutting Danny off before he ends up running more sentences.

Normally, when he comes to pick Charlie up, Danny seems pretty together - really together, actually, it's just the first pick up, and then this one, where he's seemed a little flustered, but now that Stiles knows about the single parent thing, it all makes a lot more sense.

"Oh my god, thank you, you're a life saver. Do you need me to pick you up and take you home, or do you drive?"

"I have a car." Stiles smiles. "I can come over right after I finish closing up."

"That would be great, thank you." Danny smiles. "Do you need the address?"

"We should have it on file."

"Oh, right." Danny smiles again, seeming a lot more relaxed now that he's got that figured out. "Alright, Charlie, say goodbye to Stiles."

"Buh bye Tiles," Charlie waves and smiles, and as Danny leaves the building with his son, Stiles can hear Danny explaining to Charlie that Stiles is going to be coming over to hang out with him in just a little while.

Stiles finishes up at school, shooting a quick text to Scott to let him know that he's babysitting and won't be home until much later than he usually is. He looks up the Mahealani's address in the school records, and heads off.

"Hey." Danny opens the door when Stiles knocks, ushering him in. "Thanks again, I'm sorry this is so last minute."

"Hey, don't worry about it."

"Okay, well he's just finishing eating right now."

Danny leads Stiles back to the kitchen, where Charlie is sitting in a high chair, picking apart a sandwich and eating it.

"Help yourself to anything in the fridge, I'm just going to run upstairs and get ready while he's occuppied, and then I'll come back and give you the low down, that alright?"

"Sounds great." Stiles smiles and turns to Charlie as Danny disappears. "Hey, Charlie."

Charlie waves, but seems far more interested in his sandwich than Stiles, so Stiles fixes himself a quick sandwich and grabs some carrot sticks, sitting down at the table next to the high chair to eat with Charlie, who is babbling to himself, and all around making a huge mess, as he eats.

"You know," Danny says when he comes back in. "We have adult food in the fridge, you don't have to eat what he eats."

"Oh, it's fine, I-" Stiles stops short when he actually looks up from his sandwich and sees Danny.

He's not rocking the casual look that he usually does when he picks Charlie up from school. He's dressed to kill in a dark green button down, that clings to his body in all of the right places, and is unbuttoned at the top, just enough to make things interesting. He's wearing dark slacks that just look damn good on him, and Stiles has to shove a carrot stick in his mouth to keep from being an idiot.

"I eat the same food as them at school, it's really not an issue," he finishes once he's swallowed.

"Alright, well if you find yourself hungry again before I get back, I mean it, you can help yourself to anything."

"Thanks."

While Charlie finishes eating, Danny goes over the evening - shoes Stiles where the emergency numbers are, explains that bedtime is 8:00, so if he starts getting him ready at 7:45, he'll have him in the crib by eight.

"He'll probably cry for a couple of minutes, but he's totally sleeping through the night now, so if he wakes up, just let him put himself back to sleep. If he's up and crying for more than 15 minutes, you can go in, see if he needs a diaper change or something to eat, but that doesn't happen very often anymore at all."

"Sounds pretty by the book," Stiles nods.

"Alright, well let me just show you where everything is, and then I'll leave you two!" Danny scoops up Charlie, wiping his face off expertly in the way only a parent or teacher really can, before heading upstairs. "This is Charlie's room, you have diapers, wipes, pajamas, everything you need should be right here. Here's the monitor, if you want to read him a few books, go right ahead, and...yeah, that should be everything." Danny shrugs. "The wi-fi password is taped to the fridge, and I should be home around 11? Is that too late? I can come home earlier, I know you have to be at work tomorrow."

"11 is fine." Stiles shrugs. He usually stays up pretty late anyways and runs off of coffee.

"Okay." Danny nods. "And hey, if you fall asleep on the couch, that's fine, so long as you have the monitor with you. I totally get that you work a long day, and I can't say thank you enough," Danny says with a smile. "For stepping in like this."

"Hey, no problem," Stiles states, still trying way too hard to look at Danny's eyes and _only_ his eyes, because hell, he may be a single father, but he is still the father of one of Stiles' students.

"Okay Charlie, daddy's gotta go now." Danny plans a sloppy kiss on his son's forehead, and Charlie giggles in delight - a scene which warms Stiles' heart. "You have fun with Stiles. I love you so much, bearcub."

"Daddy." Charlie grins and raises his hands to Danny's face, squishing in his dad's cheeks.

"Okay, you two have fun," Danny says with a genuine grin as he hands Charlie off to Stiles.

Stiles sits down, and grabs a book off of the shelf, occupying Charlie instantly while Danny sneaks out the door.

It takes Charlie almost a full 20 minutes to realize that his dad has left, and he cries for about 3 minutes before realizing that he's safe with Stiles, and the rest of the night, bedtime included, goes off without a hitch.

Charlie is asleep by 7:56, and Stiles takes the monitor back downstairs. He's still got like 3 hours to kill, and he wasn't planning on babysitting, so he doesn't have his computer, and his phone desperately needs to charge, so he plugs it in, and raids the fridge.

The first thing he notices about the fridge is that there is a lot of Kale. More Kale, Stiles thinks, than anyone ever needs to eat in a lifetime. The second thing that he notices is that behind all of the kale, there is leftover pizza.

"Score." Stiles grins and grabs a slice before going to the couch, pizza in one hand, baby monitor in the other. He eats the pizza, watches TV for awhile, cleans up the kitchen, and then passes out hard around 10 PM, the baby monitor gripped tightly in his hands.

"Hey, Stiles."

Stiles wakes up with a start to a soft voice, and a hand gently shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, sorry." Stiles remembers where he is instantly, and sits up, finding himself face to face with Danny, who still looks damn perfect in the green shirt and well-fitting slacks.

"Don't worry about it, I was serious when I said I didn't mind if you fell asleep. Sorry I'm late."

"What time is it?" Stiles asks, realizing that he left his phone charging in the kitchen, and he hasn't worn a watch since, like, middle school.

"Just after midnight, I'm really sorry."

"Hey, it's fine." Stiles smiles, and he means it. "I got a good nap in."

"How was the bearcub?"

"Great." Stiles nods. "He went down super easy, didn't wake up at all. I ate some of your leftover pizza, I hope that's okay."

"Totally fine." Danny smiles. "Next time I'll try and have something more substantial for you. I know it's a little awkward when you're foraging in someone else's fridge, even if they've said that it's okay."

"Yeah." Stiles laughs. "Well I should get going."

"Hold on, let me write you a check."

"Oh, wow, right." Stiles laughs.

"$15 an hour okay? That's what I pay Isaac."

"Yeah, that's fine." Stiles nods, because it's more than what he makes an hour at the school, and it's not like he actually did very much. He's essentially getting paid for like an hour of child care, an hour of watching TV, and two hours of napping. Though he knows that what he's really getting paid for is his presence, and the trust that he would have gone above and beyond, had their been an emergency.

"Alright." Danny hands him the check. "I'll see you at school. Thanks again."

"Hey, anytime." Stiles leaves the house and drives home, not at all surprised to see Scott playing video games on the couch when he gets home.

"Hey man, you were out late."

"Babysitting."

"Yeah, I saw. Hey, you okay? You look disgruntled."

"Charlie's dad is really hot," Stiles mutters. "Like...really, epically hot."

"Oh. Shit." Scott laughs, moving over on the couch. "You want to take it out on some GTA?"

"Can't." Stiles shakes his head. "Work tomorrow."

"Boring," Scott shrugs. Sure, he has work tomorrow, too, but he doesn't have to be there until 11 on Tuesdays. "Hey, before you go, can you ask that Allison chick if I can have her number? I just want to make sure that, you know, she's okay with it, before I steal your phone and send her a random text."

"Look at you being a gentleman." Stiles smiles.

"Look at you, crushing on a dad at work," Scott teases.

"Hey, if you want that number, you'd better stuff it."

"Shutting up now," Scott says instantly, and Stiles just shakes his head, walking into the bedroom.

He flops down on his bed, stomach first, and falls asleep like that, right then and there, still fully dressed, sneakers and all.

**_A/N Alright! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! A couple of orders of business! 1. I was asked about my choice of name for Stiles, and I picked Andrzejek because...it's polish, and I liked it. That is literally the only reason. 2. If you like Stisaac, I just started posting a chapter Stisaac story called Lost in the Flood, and I would totally appreciate you checking it out! Thanks for reading, and have a good day!_**


	5. Chapter 5

Isaac isn't just a neighbor who babysits Charlie, but lately, he's become a close friend of Danny's, because, well, Danny has immersed himself into work, and into Charlie, and most of his other friends don't actually live in Beacon Hills anymore. They went to exciting places, far away places, and while Danny's sister, Rebecca, fully signed away parental rights of Charlie, he didn't want to move the boy away from his family.

"You look happy," Isaac says with a smile. They're meeting for lunch on a Thursday, so Charlie is at school, and they have a little time to just talk. "Things must be going well with Charlie...and mystery guy? Do I get to know his name now? What was Monday, like date number 7?"

"Eight," Danny says with a shy smile. "And yes, it's going well with Charlie, and surprisingly, with Matt, too, but you know me, I don't like to put my eggs in any one basket. It's the first guy I've dated since Charlie came into my life, and I'm not really sure how all of that is supposed to work."

"Well you told him about Charlie, right?" Isaac asks, poking at his Caesar salad with his fork.

"Of course I told him about Charlie." Danny smiles. "I mean, I'm not looking for something short and fleeting, and if I want someone to respect me and take me seriously, I can't do something like hide a child from them."

"And how did he react?" Isaac asks.

"He said he was fine with it, and I told him that I didn't want to rush it, so it would be awhile before I thought about introducing them, and he was fine with that, too."

"Well, it sounds like you might have a winner on your hands." Isaac smiles at him.

"I hope so." Danny sighs. "I'm actually not all that used to being single, as it turns out. After Ethan…" Danny trails off. Ethan was a great boyfriend, the kind that you spend the rest of your life with, but he wasn't ready for kids, and Danny had made the mistake of not really making it a group decision. He made plans to adopt Charlie, because he felt it was the right thing to do, and it was what _he_ wanted, and he shouldn't have been surprised when Ethan left because of it. He just hadn't been respectful of their relationship when he made his choice.

"Look, if you're worried about getting hurt…"

"Ethan didn't hurt me, Isaac," Danny reminds. "I was the one who hurt him."

"I guess, but what you did...you did the right thing, with Charlie." Isaac smiles comfortingly at him.

"Why do you have to be straight?" Danny laments, looking at Isaac, his tone overdramatic, in a teasing way.

"Because the universe is a cruel, cruel world that doesn't want you to be happy," Isaac says with a cheeky grin. "Oh, by the way, who did you end up getting to sit for you monday? I'm still sorry about the short notice."

"Oh, this guy Stiles? He's the new assistant at Charlie's preschool. I got lucky he was available last minute, and Charlie loves him, so it worked out well."

"Uh oh," Isaac says with a smile. "Should I be worried about losing my spot in the little guy's heart? I think my attachment to Charlie is half of the reason Cora likes me as much as she does."

"Oh shut up." Danny rolls his eyes. "Cora likes you because of you, you knew her before you she knew Charlie - and I will never be able to thank you enough for getting us into Growing Roots, and Charlie will know that for all of his life, and Uncle Isaac will forever be number one in his heart - well, number two, after Daddy."

"See," Isaac smiles. "Now you're just saying what I want to hear."

"Maybe just a little." Danny smiles. "But we do owe you. If it weren't for you, well, Cora, but same thing, he would have been at one of those big public day cares. I didn't even realize preschool could start with Toddlers."

"The more you know," Isaac says with a shrug. "Tell me more about Matt. I want the juicy details."

"You sure you're straight?" Danny teases.

"Would you like references?" Isaac shoots back. "Now spill."

"He's just down to earth. He's a photographer, he likes to have fun, he gets that I can't stay over, that I have someone to get home to, and that he can't come with me…"

"Sounds promising," Isaac admits.

"Yeah." Danny nods. "I'm just trying not to get too attached, you know? I don't want this to turn into a disaster. Now that I've got Charlie, I'm a lot more worried about how things turn out, because if I introduce him to Charlie somewhere down the line, and then things don't work out, it's not just me that gets hurt this time."

"I know." Isaac smiles gently at Danny. "There's no sure way of knowing, so as long as you follow your gut, you should be fine. You're a really smart guy, Danny."

"Thanks." Danny smiles. "I should get back to work - is there any way you can pick up Charlie today? I don't need you to watch him, but it would be extra helpful if you could pick him up for me."

"Sure thing." Isaac nods, throwing some cash on the table as they head off.

When Isaac gets to the lobby, he puts up Charlie's name tag so that the teachers will know he's here, and when Charlie comes out a few minutes later, he's with a guy Isaac hasn't seen before.

"Hi. You must be Stiles, I'm Isaac, Danny and Charlie's neighbor."

"Ikaaa!" Charlie grins.

"He has trouble with Isaac," Isaac explains.

"Yeah, he calls me Tiles." Stiles grins. "Can I just see your ID really quickly? I know it's probably annoying but I've never met you..."

"Oh, sure thing!" Isaac fumbled for his ID and shows it to Stiles.

"Great, thanks." Stiles nods. "Have a good evening."

"Will do, and hey, thanks for being free Monday night."

"Hey, no problem." Stiles shrugs.

"It's good for Danny to have a second sitter."

"Daddy!" Charlie says, and Isaac leans down, picking him up.

"Yeah bud." He smiles. "Let's go see daddy. I know for a fact he's waiting for is at home."

Isaac walks out with Charlie, and Stiles can't help but wonder if maybe Isaac is Danny's partner. He doesn't know Danny's orientation, but there's something about the familiarity win Charlie, and the way Isaac talked about home that makes him wonder.

"So that Isaac guy," Stiles says as he walks back into the now empty classroom. "Is he like with Charlie's dad or something?"

"What?" Allison bursts out laughing. "Jesus, no. They're friends or something. Isaac is dating Cora."

"Oh." Stiles blushed slightly. "Well now I just feel like an idiot."

"Why?" Allison asks. "Did you say something to him that implied you thought they were partners?"

"No, god no, that would be so unprofessional, I just feel like I have the worst gaydar in the history of the world."

"Well clearly not the worst," Lydia pipes up from across the room.

"What?" Stiles asks.

"You were right about Danny."

"What? I - how do you know that?" He asks, fumbling over his words.

"Cora told me." Lydia shrugs, as though it's the most regular, nonchalant thing in the world...and Stiles tries to pretend that it is, like he doesn't care at all that Danny's gay.

It doesn't matter, because however hot he may be, he Charlie's dad. And also, there is no chance at all that Monday night wasn't a date for Danny. Not dressed the way he was - looking that good. And why should a guy like him be single? Nice, caring, clearly financially stable, not to mention hot as all hell.

Danny is exactly the kind of guy that Stiles should not be thinking about as he drives home - the kind of guy Stiles should not be thinking about at all. And yet, as he parks in the garage of their apartment complex, he's thinking about Danny, and mentally hating himself for it.

"I am the worst kind of cliche," Stiles announces to Scott as he enters the apartment. He flops down on the couch stomach first and buries his face in the cushion.

"Is this about that hot dad?" Scott asks, looking up from his bowl of cereal - which at this time of day, Stiles greatly suspects is his dinner.

"I wish it weren't, but it is."

"Oh buddy..." Scott sighs. "You're hot for DILF."

"I am." Stiles groans, rolling over onto his back. "I really, really am."

**_A/N Alright, hope you enjoyed it! :)_**


	6. Chapter 6

Stiles wants to stay away from Danny, but when the dad e-mails him and asks for a sitter for a Saturday night, he really can't say no. It's Charlie, and Danny is a single parent, trying to make it on his own, Stiles doesn't want his stupid crush to get in the way of that. Danny asks Stiles to show up at 8:15, which Stiles knows to be 15 minutes after the kid's bedtime, but he doesn't ask any questions - he's just there to help out a single dad, the dad of one of his favorite students...and he knows he's not supposed to have favorites, but who doesn't?

"Hey, thanks for coming." Danny smiles when he opens the door. "Charlie's asleep, I...should probably explain. I don't get very much time with him, I mean. He's at school until 5, because I have to work, but bedtime is at 8, so I like to try and go out after he's asleep, you know...so I don't miss any of my time with him."

"I totally get it," Stiles says with a nod. In reality, it's sickeningly sweet, and Stiles has to push certain thoughts from his head before they take over...like wondering if Danny actually managed to go from dad mode to smokin' hot and dressed to kill in the space of the 15 minutes since Charlie's bed time, or if he got himself ready while getting Charlie ready, and he's not sure which is more impressive.

Since Danny seems to be something of a superdad, Stiles is guessing probably either is possible.

"Anyways, same as last time, anything in the fridge is up for grabs, and I'll be back...well, how late works for you?" Danny asks. "Be honest."

"Honestly, as long as you don't mind me passing out on the couch again, I really don't care when you come home."

As far as Stiles is concerned, as long as Danny comes home before Charlie wakes up, he doesn't care. Danny works hard, he's heard from Lydia and Allison just how much so, and he doesn't want to cause any problems there.

"Are...are you sure?" Danny asks, scratching the back of his neck as he looks at Stiles, clearly not wanting to take advantage of the offer.

"Yup. It's a Saturday night." Stiles shrugged. He would have been out late himself either way, and he's getting paid for this, so might as well. Danny clearly has the money, and he desire for a few hours to himself...or a few hours with whoever gets him to bring it in the looks department.

"Okay, well call or text if you want me to come home," Danny informs him. "Otherwise...I'll probably be back around...one or two?"

"Sounds good." Stiles nods. That's perfectly normal, after all, for someone their age to be going out. He says their age because Danny is, in fact, very close to him in age, and it's sort of weird to think of the guy as having a kid, and a career that's already made him enough money to buy a house.

"Alright, well...have a good time, help yourself to snacks...oh, shit, I told you I was going to get something real for you this time. Shit." Danny sighs, going to the kitchen and pulling out some takeout menus. "Here, all of these places deliver, and they've all got my account on file, just order something and charge it to me. Please. It's the least I can do since you're giving up your Saturday night."

"Oh, thanks." Stiles nods, because yeah, he might as well. Cooking doesn't sound fun right now. "Have a good night."

"Will do. Thanks again," Danny calls on his way out the door.

Stiles plops down on the couch with the baby monitor and the takeout menus, perusing them before ordering some Thai food, and settling in for a night of watching TV and eating someone else's food.

Around midnight, he makes a pot of coffee, because there is a Criminal Minds marathon on, and he hasn't seen a lot of the show, but he's in the right mood that night for it to be just the right sort of addicting. In fact, he's so invested that when the door opens up about 13 minutes into a new episode...around 3 in the morning, Stiles jumps.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Danny asks when he walks into the room, tilting his head to the side.

"What? No." Stiles shakes his head...except for the fact that Danny totally did, and okay, maybe watching a marathon of a TV show about serial killers while babysitting wasn't the best idea he's ever had, but it's too late to go back now.

"You're still up," Danny points out.

"That I am." He nods. "Criminal Minds marathon, I guess I got invested."

"Nothing wrong with that." Danny shrugs. "If you want, you can finish the episode."

"It's still got like 45 minutes."

"That's fine."Danny shrugs.

"I mean, are you sure?" Stiles asks.

"Yeah. I'll even watch with you." Danny flops down on the couch next to him, and Stiles turns back to the TV.

The pair watch in silence until the first commercial break comes up.

"So, how was Charlie?" Danny asks.

"Oh, he was good. Slept the whole time. I checked on him like an hour ago, he was breathing, so…"

"That's pretty much all I ask." Danny smiles. "Is your name really Stiles Stilinski?" he asks, wasting no time after the last question, and Stiles wonders just how long that's been on his mind.

"No." Stiles laughs, shaking his head. "Stiles is a nickname. My first name is Andrzejek."

"Jesus Christ." Danny lets out a low whistle.

"I know, right?" Stiles grins. "It's the spelling to pronunciation that people have a hard time with. "I got a lot of 'Ahn-drez-uh-jack' and 'Anders-jek' as a child, so I just...started going by Stiles, and it stuck." He shrugged.

"So if I started calling you Andre," Danny teases.

"No one would ever find your body," Stiles threatens amiably.

"Noted," Danny says with a grin, and they fall back into silence as the TV program starts up again.

When a commercial break comes around again, Stiles doesn't say anything, because the question he's wanted to know isn't one you just bring up. He gets why Danny felt comfortable asking about his name, it's out there in front of everything, but asking about Charlie's mom? That just seems out of line.

"What brought you to Beacon Hills?" Danny asks, filling the time.

"A job, mostly," he smiles. "And a good friend of mine was moving up here, and I figured hey, we're compatible roommates, so might as well."

"Oh, cool." Danny nods. "Do you like it so far?"

"Yeah. It's small, but I'm sort of used to that."

"Where are you from?"

"San Clemente. My dad's the Sheriff there, and my mom teaches at the high school." He doesn't know why he's volunteered that information, but San Clemente had always felt like home, and being away was, well, a little odd.

"Wow, your dad's a Sheriff?" he laughs. "So you really would be able to hide my body."

"Oh, no doubt," Stiles grins. "But I guess for Charlie's sake, I'll let you live."

"How ever will I thank you?" Danny says sarcastically, and Stiles just smiles, looking away, because yeah, talking to Danny should not be as much fun as looking at him, and yet...here they are.

"You bought me Thai food, so I think we're good," he responds finally, and Danny nods, because yeah, that's a good enough balance, he supposes.

"Before I forget." Danny pulls out his checkbook, writing Stiles a check. "Thanks, by the way."

"You have a good time out?"

"Yeah." Danny smiles, trying to keep the blush from creeping up his cheeks, and yup. That's just the proof that Stiles needs to know that Danny was with someone. He needs to not go down that road, though, because even if Danny were single, and even if Danny were gay (which Stiles still thinks he might be), he's forbidden fruit anyways, and Stiles doesn't want to go there.

The show comes back, and they finish watching it, talking good naturedly, amiably, through the commercial break, as though they're friends, and Stiles knows that it's taboo to bone the parents of one of his students, but he's not really sure where the stance on friendship is, and he makes a mental note to ask Lydia on Monday.

"Are you sure you're not too tired to drive?" Danny asks, tilting his head to the side. "I mean, it's not a great offer, but you can crash here, on the couch, if you don't feel comfortable behind the wheel of a car."

"Oh, thanks for the offer," Stiles says with a smile. "But I can manage. I may or may not have consumed an entire pot of coffee."

"Well then who am I to stop you?" Danny smiles, walking Stiles to the door. "Drive safe."

"Will do." Stiles nods, and disappears out the door before he can look back at Danny, and his incredibly well fitting clothes, and his amazingly sexy dimples.

It's just not fair that the first guy - the first _person _he's been really attracted to in Beacon Hills had to be, well...completely unavailable.

When he gets home, all of the lights are off in the apartment, which isn't that surprising, but instead of going to his room, he goes into Scott's room and flops right on top of his best friend.

"What the hell, man?" Scott exclaims loudly, waking up instantly. "Evil, you are evil," he declares, reaching over as best he can with Stiles sprawled all over him, and turns the light on.

"Unnngggghhhh," Stiles responds.

"Dude, are you drunk?" Scott asks.

"No," Stiles sighs, rolling off of Scott so that he's just lying on the bed now, looking up at the ceiling. "He's actually a nice guy."

"Who is?" Scott asks. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Charlie's dad."

"Oh god. No. Nope." Scott shakes his head. "Not this again. Off limits, the man is off limits, Stiles."

"I know that, and he's not single anyways - he was on a date tonight, and he came home looking damn happy, but...ugh, I just need to get laid."

"Get out of my bed," Scott says, though he's clearly joking. "Right now."

"No." Stiles shakes his head. "I'm miserable."

"You're tired, and you have a crush. We'll go to the city next weekend and get all of this out of your system."

"Nope." Stiles shakes his head. "Thanksgiving."

"Oh, shit." Scott sighs. "Well when we get back, okay? I'll take you out, and we'll get you so laid that you forget all about the hot dad."

"Promise?" Stiles asks.

"Promise. Now get the fuck out of my bed, it's the middle of the night."

"Fine." Stiles pulls himself up and goes to his own room, falling asleep almost right away.

**_A/N Thanks so much for reading, and I'm sorry about the slower updating! I've been really, really busy - that is going to continue through this week, but hopefully should slow down a little next week. Anyways, some more Danny/Stiles interaction - I know that you guys want to see Danny/Stiles + Charlie interaction, and that will happen, I promise, just not there yet! This story has almost too slow of a build the way it's set up right now, so I'm trying to fix that, but in the mean time, thanks for your loyalty! I love ya guys! Oh, and I've been trying to proofread better, because writing on my phone means so much autocorrect! I hope it's working out._**


	7. Chapter 7

Stiles and Scott go home for thanksgiving, and it's a big to do.

"Honey!"

The second Stiles unlocks the door to his house, his mother is all over him, pulling him into a big hug, and some "manly" part of Stiles wants to say that he didn't return it right back with just as much gusto, but anyone who knows Stiles knows how much Stiles loves his mom, and would know it was a lie.

"Hey mom." He grins, pulling back. "Wow, you look younger than you did when I last saw you! I guess not having to support your son is doing wonders for you!"

"Flattery will get you everywhere," she says with a grin, pulling her son in for another tight hug.

"I know." He shrugs. "Dad at work?"

"Yes, but he's taken tomorrow off...mostly to watch football," she teases. "Are you going to help me cook? Scott and Melissa are coming over at 4 for dinner, so we need to start early."

"I guess I can do that," he says with an overdramatic sigh.

It's a thanksgiving tradition, really - John watches football on the couch while Claudia creates the meal, Stiles helping every way he can. He's no master chef, but he can take instruction well, and they've done this enough times to know what works. He isn't allowed anywhere near the turkey, but mashed potatoes have become his wheelhouse.

"So, how's Beacon Hills?" his mom asks, helping him carry his stuff up to his bedroom. "How's work?"

"Good, it's all good." Stiles smiles. "It's, you know...actually a really amazing job, amazing people, and living with Scott is-"

"Let me guess," his mom teases. "Amazing?"

"You said it." He smiles.

"So you're happy?"

"Yes." Stiles nods. "I'm very happy."

"That's all a mother ever wants to hear. That you're supporting yourself, and that you're happy. Would any of this happiness have to do with a special someone in your life?" she asks.

"Sadly, no." Stiles shakes his head. "But it's only been a couple of months, and I work a lot, so...I'm not really focusing on that right now." He shifts awkwardly, trying not to think of Danny, but his mother is too smart for that.

"Spill, kid," she says instantly, sitting down on the side of the bed, and gesturing for Stiles to sit beside her.

"Mom…" Stiles groans, shaking his head, though he sits down next to her. "There's no one, okay? I promise. No one. Not at all. Not even a little bit."

"But you want there to be," she interjects.

"It's like, a little tiny crush," Stiles says, because really, right now that is all that it is. Yes, Danny's hot, and the way that he acts with his son is incredibly attractive to the part of Stiles that values children above, well, pretty much everything else in the world, and he's kind, and good natured, and all of that doesn't help with the crush, but at the end of the day, there is still a ton that Stiles doesn't know about Danny, so it's not exactly like he's pining for some would-be love. "And that's all it's ever going to be."

"What makes you say that?"

"He's not available, can we drop it? Please?" Stiles really doesn't want to admit to his mother that he's crushing on the parent of one of his students. He knows that she's so proud of him for supporting himself, for getting a job like this, for settling down into a place where he's happy - and he is happy, really happy. He doesn't want to disappoint her by admitting he's lusting after the wrong guy in a totally unprofessional way.

"Is he straight? He'd be crazy not to want you!"

"You have to say that, you're my mom," he sighs. "And I don't know if he's straight. Weren't we dropping this?"

"Fine, fine." She rolls her eyes. "Sue me for wanting to be up on the gossip in my son's life."

"I'm a teaching assistant at a preschool," Stiles deadpans. "I couldn't afford a good lawyer."

"I'm a teacher at a public high school," Claudia says with a grin. "Mine wouldn't be much better."

"Like mother, like son," Stiles says teasingly.

"You've always taken after me," his mother explains. "Drives your father crazy, so of course, I love that about you. Now get up. We're going to pick up the pies."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." Stiles saluts, and follows his mom out the door, and to the car to go get the pies, because yeah, he loves being an adult and supporting himself and all of that, but there's always something to be said for being home, and being with his family - especially his mom.

She had a nasty run with breast cancer a couple of years ago, and Stiles can't stop thinking about how close they came to losing her, but Claudia Stilinski is a fighter, if nothing else, and she pulled through - not so much for herself, he suspects, but for Stiles, and for her husband, John, because she's completely correct when she says that the Stilinski men would be lost without her.

Stiles' dad may be the Sheriff, but it's his mom who is the badass, his mom who would lay down the law and make him go to bed when his father could be easily persuaded for "just one more hour," or "just one more cookie." He's not a child anymore, and he can stay up as late as he wants, and eat whatever he wants, but at the end of the day, he values and respects his mother's opinion too much to ignore it.

"Alright, so that's one pumpkin, one pecan, and one apple."

"Jeez." Stiles laughs as they load the pies into the car. "Three pies for five people?"

"Hmm, you're right," Claudia taps her chin. "Maybe we should get one more."

Stiles rolls his eyes and shoves his mom playfully, getting back into the passenger's seat.

"I really am proud of you, you know," she says as she starts driving back to the house. "Your father is, too - choosing a major that you wanted, finding a job, supporting yourself. With the economy the way that it was, we expected to be supporting you for another couple of years while you floundered around, and there's nothing wrong with that, but...well, we're just proud of you is all."

"Thanks, mom," Stiles says, looking out the window. "But don't get all emotional, on me, okay? I'm not perfect."

"Oh, I know that," Claudia says with a roll of her eyes. "If you were perfect, you'd be so boring."

"Love you, too, mom."

They drive back, get everything stored, and start setting up for tomorrow, waiting for John to come home so that they can go have their traditional "night before thanksgiving pizza."

Stiles sleeps easy in his own bed, feeling comfortable, safe, and happy for his surroundings, and for his family. Yeah, he loves his new life, the one where he is in charge of himself, but there's something about the warmth of home that is always going to appeal to him, and he's glad that he hasn't lost any of that, that he hasn't fallen out of touch with his roots.

That feeling is amplified the next day, when, after spending hours in the kitchen laughing, cooking, and joking with his mom, Scott and Melissa shows up.

"Sup, surrogate father," Scott says, nodding at John, who raises his beer, too focused on the game to get up just yet. Scott's dad is an asshole, and they haven't seen him in awhile. He used to come around for holidays, but now, even that seems like too much for him to handle. "Second mommy," Scott says teasingly, entering the kitchen and handling Claudia a bouquet of flowers.

"Oh, you are so sweet." She pulls Scott into a tight hug, and Stiles goes to hug Melissa - his own second mother - as Claudia puts the flowers into a vase.

It's a strange little family unit, the five of them - two young men, two mothers, and a father, but they're all family, and Stiles knows to be thankful for that. Thankful that his mom is alive, that his dad isn't a douchebag, that he has a brother like Scott, even if it's not biological.

Stiles loves thanksgiving, and while it's too mushy to really say aloud most of the things that he's thinking and feeling right now, displaying the love that he feels surrounding him right now, he just feels happy, and he fully plans on channeling that energy with him when they go back to Beacon Hills on Sunday. He doesn't need some sexy guy to be happy, Scott's right, they can get that out of his system with a couple of trips to clubs or something.

The people that really matter are the ones who are right in front of him now.

Thanksgiving for Danny and Charlie goes a little differently.

The Mahealani family isn't located largely in Beacon Hills, and before, the family would travel, often all the way to Hawaii, for thanksgiving, but with Charlie being as young as he is, and Danny not wanting to risk it, it's a quiet dinner with his mother, his father, his sister, and of course, Charlie.

They walk in the door on Thanksgiving day, Danny carrying the pies he promised to pick up, and Charlie toddling faithfully at his side.

"How's my favorite little nephew?" Rebecca asks, not missing a beat as she picks Charlie up.

He's 23 months now, which means it's been just under two years since she signed the child over to her older brother. She's 18 now, and just home from her first year of college, something that she knows wouldn't have been possible had Danny not taken responsibility for the kid.

Not for one moment does Rebecca regret her decision to let Danny adopt Charlie, and for not one minute does Danny regret the choice that he made. Charlie is his son, and Rebecca's nephew, and what the truth may be bioligically doesn't actually matter to them.

Of course, they've talked about what they're going to tell Charlie, and right now, the plan is to explain it to him when he's 18, when he's old enough to understand and to process that information. For now, Danny will be 100% his father, but Rebecca? She's in his life. She loves the kid, and that's really that anyone can ask for.

It only takes about 15 minutes of playing for the grandparents to scoop Charlie away, leaving Danny and Rebecca to talk.

"So, how's college?" Danny asks.

"Really great." She smiles as she works on putting together the salad. "I'm doing really well in my classes, and I think now, more than ever, I really do want to go pre-med."

"Oh please," Danny rolls his eyes. "Like there was any doubt. You're doctor material, through and through."

"Well, thank you for saying that." She blushes.

"It's true." Danny shrugs. He's proud of his sister. She had a baby in high school, and she was willing to defer, or even cancel, her own plans, her own dreams, to take care of that child, from the moment she knew that she was pregnant, but Danny stepped in, making the offer, really more of a request, because he's known since he was young that he wanted to be a father, and he's also known since he came out that that would be difficult for him.

"What about you?" Rebecca asks. "How's your tech wizardry?"

"You know." Danny shrugs. "Profitable."

"Richie rich," she teases. "How's Charlie doing?"

"Mostly good." He nods. "He bit me the other day, but it was more for attention than anything else." Danny shrugs. "He's on track at school, he's getting really, really verbal, though more than half the time it's still non-words, or words that I don't understand."

"Good." Rebecca beams, proud of the child she created, even if she's not raising him as her own. "And how are you? You seeing anyone?"

She hasn't breached the topic since Ethan - no one in their family has. It was almost two years ago, though, and for someone like Danny, who previous to the breakup with Ethan, hadn't been single for more than two weeks since he was 14, that's a long, long time.

"I am, actually." Danny blushes. "This guy, Matt...it's...it's going well. We've been on several dates so far."

"That sinfully delicious neighbor of yours still watching Charlie?"

"First off, his name is Isaac, second, hit on him and die - besides, he's taken anyways. And he's two old for you. Third, yeah, he watches Charlie a lot, but sometimes I get this guy Stiles, who's an assistant at Charlie's school."

"Stiles?" Rebecca raises an eyebrow.

"It's a nickname, he has this ridiculous to pronounce first name, so...he goes by Stiles."

"Gotcha." She nods. "But he's good to Charlie?"

"Charlie loves him." Danny smiles. "All I hear about on the way to school is Tiles, Tiles, Tiles...interestingly enough, after school is out, it's all Daddy, Daddy, Daddy."

"You can't say the little guy doesn't love you," Rebecca said, gently nudging her brother.

"No, that's very true. He's a great kid, I'm...very lucky to have him in my life." He puts one arm around his sister, hugging her tightly. "Thank you, Rebecca."

"Hey, it was what was best for everyone," she says with a smile, and that's true. It was best for her, it was best for Charlie, and it was best for Danny. That doesn't mean that it's always easy, watching her brother raise her child, but it's best, and she gets to be in his life, and that really is enough.

It's a different kind of family, but it's still family, and Danny still values this over, well, anything else in his life, and that's one more thing that he and Stiles have in common.

**_A/N I am SO sorry for how long it took me to update. I have had a crazy couple of weeks! My summer schedule is sort of ridiculous, so I'm sorry, updates won't be as regular, but don't worry, this story isn't dead, and I hope that you guys are still reading and enjoying! Thanks for sticking with it, love you guys!_**


	8. Chapter 8

On the first of December, Stiles falls asleep in the nap room for the first time. Allison and Lydia both assured him when he started working there that it was really only a matter of time - the lights are off, there's soft music playing, and they just sit there, rubbing the backs of the students until they fall asleep.

Well on the first of December, Quail just doesn't want to fall asleep, so Stiles lies down on his side, rubbing her back, whispering quietly to her, until they both fall asleep.

When Lydia walks back into the nap room and sees Stiles sprawled on the floor amongst the children, of course, she takes a picture, because why wouldn't she?

He wakes up to Maria Reyes-Boyd, just under three years old, and confident as hell, standing over him.

"You fell asleep," she states, her little arms folded across her chest.

"Whoops." Stiles laughs, sitting up.

"Lydia said not to wake you up, that you were tired."

"She's right about that one," Stiles states, though he thinks that they definitely should have woken him up - this is work, not a place to nap, but he doesn't argue that, not with a three year old.

"I think it's funny when adults take naps."

"We get tired too sometimes," Stiles states, getting up, and walking out of the nap room, Maria right on his heels.

"Daddy never gets tired," she argues. "Neither does mommy."

"Never?" Stiles asks.

"Never." Maria shakes her head.

Stiles shrugs, because from what he's seen, if there are two people who never get tired, it probably is Erica Reyes and Vernon Boyd. They always seem to have energy, and time, and no matter what, they're always on time, and they always look perfectly put together...and Maria worships the ground her parents walk on...and from all evidence given, why wouldn't she?

Stiles doesn't know what they're doing at home with that kid, but it's working. She's damn smart, and chatty as hell, and more than ready to move up to the next age bracket, but she has to wait until her next birthday.

"Mommy says you babysit Charlie," Maria pushes.

"Um, yeah, sometimes."

"You should come over to my house," she states. "I have an electric train set."

"That sounds...fun. Tell your parents they can email me." He's not exactly sure if her parents want Stiles to babysit, or if it's just Maria wants Stiles to babysit. He's also not really sure how Erica found out that he sits for Charlie. Maybe there's a parent group, or maybe she is friends with Danny, he doesn't know, but it's really interesting having coherent conversations with a toddler only moments after waking up from a nap.

"Are you gay?" Maria asks, and Stiles almost passes out from shock.

"Um...what?"

"Mommy says she thinks you're gay, like her friend Danny."

Okay, well that answers one question, but he's still not sure how to deal with the situation. He's also not sure that Maria knows what 'gay' means. There's a strong chance that she overheard Erica talking about this to someone, maybe to Vernon, he doesn't actually know, but he's pretty sure that the kid doesn't understand the implications of what she's asking Stiles.

"Have you been to the bathroom yet?" Stiles asks, deflecting the question.

Maria looks sheepish - like she knows she's supposed to try the toilet after nap, and didn't, and then just turns, walking to the bathroom.

"You look like someone just hit you with a brick," Lydia says, walking up to Stiles.

"Maria just asked me if I'm gay."

"Oh...my god." Lydia can't help but laugh, shaking her head as she does. "What a precocious kid. Probably over heard it from her parents. What did you tell her?"

"Told her to go use the bathroom." Stiles shrugs.

"Good man." Lydia pats him on the shoulder and walks away to go assist other children.

This leaves Stiles to think on the more interesting part of his interaction with Maria. Now he knows that Danny is gay, and that certainly doesn't make it any easier to forget about him the way he promised himself that he would.

And another thing that doesn't help? Danny waltzing in around 4 to pick up his son, and casually asking Stiles to babysit again on Thursday. Stiles says yes, just like that, and he knows he's not doing any better.

He sits for Charlie again, but that time, goes home as soon as Danny gets back - which is much earlier, since it's a school night.

At Happy Hour with Lydia and Allison the next night, though, it becomes clear that the universe simply isn't willing to let him forget Danny just yet.

"Okay, I think we've known you long enough to play the DILF game," Allison states, looking right at Stiles as she takes a sip of her beer.

"The um...what?"

"Hottest dads. You can do moms, too."

"Aren't we like...not supposed to go there?" Stiles asks, turning his pint awkwardly in his hands.

"Just because we don't do anything about it, doesn't mean we don't notice attractive people, Stiles," Lydia says, rolling her eyes. "We're teachers, but we're not blind."

"Oh." Stiles nods.

"Like...Lydia thinks Maria's dad is incredibly sexy," Allison says with a smile. "While I'm more partial to Henry's father, though Bianca's dad is no slouch..."

"And then there is Charlie's dad, who is in a whole other league." Lydia grins, and Stiles can't stop a blush. "Ohhh, that's the one, isn't it."

"What?" Stiles asks.

"Charlie's dad. Danny. He's your DILF of choice, isn't he."

"I...I guess?" Stiles shrugs, knowing that he's bright red.

"Why are you so embarrassed?" Allison asks with a smile, taking a sip of her drink. "He's hot. Really, really hot. It would almost be insulting if you didn't think he was attractive - insulting to him, I mean."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Aw, buddy." Lydia smiles at Stiles, talking to him as though he's one of the children, almost. "Does our game make you uncomfortable?"

"No, no." Stiles shakes his head. "I was just blindsided." He laughs, and tries not to show how awkward he really is feeling, because it's one thing to think the parents of one of your students is hot and gossip about it with your co-teachers, because that probably happens at all schools, all of the time, but to have a full blown crush the way that Stiles does on Danny? That's pretty different, and he knows it.

Stiles hides his blush, orders another drink, and listens while Lydia and Allison animatedly discuss the parents of their children, because yeah, they're not wrong, a lot of them really are attractive, but Stiles just can't get his mind off of Danny. It's not just the way he looks, or the way he smiles, it's the way that he takes care of his kid so fully, the way that he balances a million things in his life, and still manages to make it all seem so seamless.

When he gets home that night, Scott is on the couch.

"Sup, bro?" Scott asks, pausing the game he's playing and turning to look at Stiles.

"God drunk with the ladies, then had to wait around until I sobered up." He shrugs, flopping next to Scott on the couch. "Now I'm here."

"You could have called me to come and get you, you know," Scott states, handing over a spare controller.

"Yeah, I know," Stiles nods. "I just didn't wanna bug you, it's all good. Allison stuck around with me most of the time anyways, so it wasn't that bad at all."

"Oh, cool." Scott looks at him. "You okay, buddy?"

"What?" Stiles nods. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just think you're right. I think it might be a good idea for me to, you know, find someone to mess around with or something, because this thing for Danny is getting a little bit out of control - and I don't mean I'm gonna act on it, or anything, I just don't want to be the guy pining for his student's dad."

"Alright." Scott agrees. "Well we'll have a roommate meeting tomorrow and figure out the best way to get you laid."

"I love you," Stiles says with a grin.

"Yeah, of course you do, now shut up and help me shoot Nazi zombies."

"You've got it, buddy." Stiles takes up his controller, and they get started with their typical move of staying up all night, having a few beers, and killing things on the TV screen. It definitely takes Stiles' mind off of his crush, though a part of him does curse the fact that he doesn't have feelings for Scott...and that even if he did, Scott is straight. It would be so much easier if they could just be a couple, but alas, they're best friends, and that's all either of them has the desire to be.

_**A/N Thanks for reading!**_


	9. Chapter 9

Danny goes out with Matt on Saturday night, leaving Isaac at home with Charlie.

When he gets home at 10 PM, only about an hour and a half after leaving, Isaac instantly knows that something isn't right.

"What are you doing back already?" Isaac asks, getting off of the couch as Danny walks in the door.

"I...we broke up," Danny says softly, not making eye contact with Isaac.

Matt is the first person that Danny has really dated since he got Charlie, and it had been going so well, but now? Now it was just proof that dating while having a kid just wasn't going to work right now.

"You did? But I thought that things were going well…" Isaac moves back to the couch, and Danny follows, flopping down next to him.

"They were, but I...he asked about meeting Charlie, and it just felt too soon to me," Danny says softly, looking over at his best friend. "So I said that I wasn't ready for that just yet, and that I hope he understood, and he just...started yelling."

"He yelled at you because you weren't ready to let him meet your kid?" Isaac asks, his tone and expression both clearly conveying the shock that he's feeling.

"Yes." Danny nods. "So I told him that if he couldn't respect my boundaries with my son, I wasn't sure that we should be dating, and he said that he was pretty sure we shouldn't be, and...then we broke up."

"Just like that?" Isaac asks.

"Just like that." Danny nods in confirmation. "I just can't be doing that, you know?" He looks at Isaac. "I can't be in a relationship with someone who can't be patient. I feel like I will know when it's the right time to introduce my son to someone I'm seeing, but I have to be sure about it, I have to know that they're the right person, that they're not going to hurt me, but more importantly, that they're not going to hurt Charlie. I don't want to bring someone into his life that might just...leave."

"You don't have to justify this to me," Isaac says softly. "I understand, Danny. You did the right thing. If he's not willing to go at your pace, then you can't be with him. You have a kid, Charlie has to come first, and I don't think anyone rational would fault you for putting him as such."

"Thanks, man," Danny says with a grateful smile, looking at Isaac, glad that he's got someone like that in his life, someone that he can trust with both himself and his son, even if it is platonic. "Still hurts, though."

"Yeah, I know it does." Isaac nods. "Look, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. You said your sister and parents are taking Charlie in a couple of weeks for the weekend? Well when that happens, we'll go out, we'll get you shit faced, and get you under some confused college kid for a night, and then we'll go from there."

"Isaac, I'm not 19, I can't just go around having meaningless sex with people because it feels good. I have a kid."

"Yeah...and that kid has a weekend away from you, right?"

"Yeah, the first week of his winter break from school, my sister will be home, they want to take him, but that doesn't mean-"

"Look," Isaac cuts in. "You're hurting man, I can see it on your face. You bend over backwards for Charlie, as you should, because you're right, he is your son, and he is your first responsibility, but how good are you going to be at taking care of him if you can't take care of yourself?" Isaac asks, head tilted to the side, and Danny can't deny that that's a good point.

"I know, I know, it just feels so juvenile, going on the prowl for a one night stand?"

"You're not that old, you know," Isaac points out.

"I know, but I have all of these responsibilities…"

"And you can let them go for one night. It's in two weeks, you have time to think about it, but we're at least going out. If you decide you don't want to get laid, I won't hold that against you, but we're going out that Friday, and I want you to be prepared for awesome."

"Alright, alright." Danny concedes for two reasons - one, he knows that Isaac isn't going to give up on this one any time soon, and two, he knows that Isaac is right. If he doesn't get some time in for himself, do a few things to take care of everything that is bothering him, he is going to have trouble giving Charlie everything that he needs. Taking care of Charlie does, in some part, mean taking care of himself.

"Good. Now you should get some rest, okay? You look like shit."

"That's...not very comforting," Danny says, frowning at his best friend, though he's pretty sure that there wasn't a single part of that sentence that was meant in a cruel way - Isaac just isn't that person. He's known Danny for awhile, and he's always been there for him, even when it wasn't easy for either of them.

"You just had a break up," Isaac explains. "If you didn't look like shit, me and every other person in the world would be lined up to take turns drop kicking you across Beacon Hills. It's not like I'm telling you to get a pint of ice cream and wallow to Adele songs," he stated.

"Good, because I wouldn't do either of those things."

"I know that." Isaac grins, because it's true. Danny is way too health conscious to let a guy pitch him head first into a pint of ice cream, and he is also not much of a wallower. Sure, it might make him sad for a few weeks, the break up, but it's not going to do much damage, and Isaac knows that. Danny puts Charlie first, and everyone else is a distant second, meaning that Matt probably didn't have that much power to begin with, and he sure as hell doesn't now.

"You keep playing both babysitter and therapist, and one of these days I'm going to have to start paying you," Danny teases.

"Shut up, that's what friends are for. Besides, your TV is better than mine."

"Everyone's TV is better than yours," Danny points out.

"I would be offended, but it's true." He shrugs. "What can I say? I like to use things until they completely die on me - don't see the point of replacing something that works just fine."

"Practical Isaac." Danny rolls his eyes. "Now get out of here so I can get some sleep."

"Yes, boss." Isaac salutes, but starts walking to the door, Danny shoving him playfully as he does.

Isaac leaves, and Danny heads upstairs with every intention of going to sleep, but once he's changed and lying in bed, he stares up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep, because it does hurt. Things were going well, and now they're over, just like that. Sure, he's always known that having Charlie in his life was going to make certain things difficult, and dating has always been one of those things, but he never really had the experience before, and he's letting it sink in...and it's not easy.

He's facing, for the first time, the fact that he might be alone for a long, long time, at least in the romantic sense. He's young, and he'd want someone around his own age, but he has a child, and most of the people close to him in age? They wouldn't want someone with that much responsibility on their shoulders. He's too young to be able to ask that of someone his own age, but he has too much responsibility to really throw himself into dating around.

It's a conundrum, but an easy one to solve. Charlie comes first. Charlie is always going to come first, and if that means that Danny has to put dating away for a long while, he's going to learn to be alright with that. Sure, he's not great at being single, but it's better that than be a crappy parent to his son.

He'll go out with Isaac, he'll see what happens, but he's pretty sure that, for the time being, he's just going to focus on Charlie, and he finally falls asleep, content with his decision, knowing that it's the right one.

What he doesn't count on is Stiles.

**_A/N - Sorry so long for the wait. As I keep saying, I have been really busy, BUT THE STORY IS NOT DEAD! I Hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for still reading, I love you all! :(_**


	10. Chapter 10

"And that, my friends," Lydia says with a smile as she walks back from the lobby. "Is a wrap."

She has just taken the last child to be picked up by their parents for winter break, and Stiles and Allison both cheer. Now they have almost three weeks off, which sure, they're not getting paid during that time, but Stiles feels like he's been working so much that he has not had time to spend any of the money that he's made.

The group spent most of the last few evenings working on cleaning the room so that they would be able to get out with the last kid on Friday, and it paid off. They have plans, though, to meet at a karaoke bar with two for one tequila shots in a few hours, they're just all going home to change first, and Stiles is picking up Scott.

It's been awhile since Scott has actually seen Allison, but they've been talking and texting, and Stiles thinks it's high time to get them in the same place at the same time...especially with two for one tequila shots going down. Is Stiles trying to play matchmaker? Maybe a little bit, but if he's being honest, the match sort of already made itself.

"Okay, so we're rockin' this, right?" Scott asks when Stiles gets back to the apartment.

"Oh, without a doubt." He smirks and heads to his room. It's not like Scott and Stiles have had a karaoke routine since sophomore year of high school...except they have totally had a karaoke routine since sophomore year of high school.

In fact, they have a couple of them, in case they go to karaoke with the same people a few times - they wouldn't want to get boring now, would they?

* * *

"Are you sure this is the best place for this?" Danny looks over at Isaac, who is pulling him through the crowd to the bar.

"Two for one tequila, Danny, and you've got a designated driver right here." He points to himself, grinning. "I promised you a night out to get over that asshole, and it may be a couple of weeks after the fact, but here we are - and we're not even in Beacon Hills, so you can get a little sloppy, people here probably won't recognize you.

By the time Danny and Isaac got to the bar, it was already in full swing, and some girl was on the karaoke stage drunkenly belting out Adele's "Someone Like You," which somehow, oddly makes Danny feel better.

Matt wasn't that meaningful to him. The pain of that song? It doesn't apply to him, and it didn't even the first day after they broke up, so he feels better hearing it, knowing that his heart is nowhere near as mangled as that of some others, maybe even the girl that's singing the song.

"Alright." Danny takes a deep breath and decides to let himself go a little. He's still not sure about getting it on with a stranger, but he has the whole weekend to recover from whatever hangover might result from two for one tequila shots, and he's right, Isaac does have his back. The guy didn't even bring Cora along, despite his promise and intentions to stay sober and take care of Danny, so yeah, he might as well take advantage of what Isaac is offering.

He pounds back two shots, and is sitting at the bar, facing the karaoke stage, when something strange happens.

Someone he knows takes the stage, and it's sort of...shocking.

There is Charlie's teacher...well, teaching assistant, Stiles. He's on the stage with another guy who looks about the same age, and they're clearly getting ready to do some karaoke.

This doesn't look at all like the Stiles that he has gotten used to at school, and through babysitting. This guy looks like he's definitely already a few of his own two for one tequila shots, and he's dressed completely differently. He's wearing jeans that fit him...well, definitely well, with a few rips here and there, though from the looks of it it's not likely they came that way, and both guys on stage are wearing RUN-DMC tank tops...and backwards baseball caps.

Danny's jaw barely has time to hit the floor before the two of them are off in a highly perfected version of RUN-DMC's It's Tricky...and it's flawless. They have some choreography down, but mostly what's impressive is that they have divided the song into two parts, and they are playing off each other so perfectly it's like they've done this a million times, and Danny sort of wonders if they have, but mostly, he's focused hard on what's playing out.

The crowd is totally eating them up, and Danny can see why. Not only are they hilarious, but they're decent. Sure, their voices? Not amazing, but the effort that they have put into this makes up for that, as does the fact that they've chosen a song most people know, and they're getting support from the audience - a lot of people are on their feet cheering them.

It's like every frat boy fantasy that Danny has never allowed himself to have is alive and kicking in the form of his son's preschool teacher.

Fuck.

"Hey, isn't that-"

"Yup." Danny nods before Isaac even has a chance to get the words out, because he's honestly not at all sure how he feels about this. Of course teachers are allowed to have lives outside of school, he knows that, he's always known that - well, aside from when he was a kid himself and thought his teachers lived in the school, but that's an honest mistake.

"Holy shit, this is solid." Isaac lets out a low whistle, and Danny has to agree.

By the time Scott and Stiles are done, the crowd at the bar is erupting, and everyone is clearly paying attention to the karaoke stage. Where before there drunk messes belting out their feelings in break up songs there are now two half drunk heroes of karaoke, and it's very, very strange.

"I'm gonna need more tequila to digest that," Danny nods, and turns back to the bar, not at all sure how to process...any of that.

"Um, that was incredible," Allison says, running up to Scott as he and Stiles leave the stage, wanting to make sure that she gets there first. It's pretty clear that they have just brought the house down, and she doesn't want to chance losing out on whatever this is with Scott to some random bar girl.

"Glad you thought so." Scott smiles, and Stiles rolls his eyes, going to join Lydia and Jackson.

"And it is on," he states, pounding a shot and taking a sip of his beer as the three of them watch Scott and Allison blatantly flirting.

"That was...special," Jackson states.

"You're just jealous," Lydia announces from where she's perched on her fiance's lap. "You would never have the guts to do something like that."

"The guys or the death wish?" Jackson throws back.

"I like to think it's the perfect combination of both," Stiles says with a smile. "Okay, I need another round. There is too much...love-birding going on over here for my taste...and...you're not listening to me." By the time he finishes getting the words out, Lydia's tongue is solidly down Jackson's throat, and Stiles has no place in this conversation...not that's even a conversation anymore, but still.

He gets to the bar and orders two more shots, because hey, two for one, right? He figures that he has three weeks off of work to suffer through a hangover, he might as well have a crazy night that he doesn't really remember.

"On the house," the bartender says with a smile. "You and your buddy are hilarious."

"Why thank you," Stiles smiles, seeing as this is about the first time he's ever scored a free drink. "We try. Far too hard."

"I dunno," Danny cuts in. "Looked pretty easy to me."

"Oh...my god." Stiles blanches as he turns around to see Danny.

One of his parents from work. The HOT parent from work...and what the hell is the protocol for this? He's definitely drunk, and he just made a very public display of that on the karaoke stage, so he's unlikely to be able to hide that.

"Ummm…" He shifts awkwardly.

"Relax," Danny says with a smile. "You're off duty. You get to have a life, too."

"Yeah." Stiles nods. "I just don't want you to think that I'm irresponsible, I mean...you trust me with...your kid…"

"You're what," Danny asks. "23?"

"Mhmm." Stiles nods.

"Yeah, you're definitely allowed to get rip roaring drunk at bars, teacher or not. It's not like you have school tomorrow."

"Alright." Stiles nods, visibly relaxing. It doesn't seem like Danny is uncomfortable in this situation, so why should he be? He pushes one of the two complimentary shots towards Danny. "What do you say? Can I buy your silence with already free tequila?" He asks, lopsided smile in place on his face.

"Absolutely." And before he knows it, Danny is doing tequila shots.

With his son's teacher.

That's the last thing he remembers before he blacks out completely.

_**A/N Alright! So I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I thought that it would help to move forwards the whole Danny/Stiles aspects of the story, so I hope that you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! **_


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